Headlight attachment



sept. s, 1925. 1,552,924

- H. F. HANSEN HEADLIGHT ATTACHMENT Filed May 19, 1924 gvwenkoz ffii/222225222 Patented Sept. 8, 1925 UNITED STATES HARRY F. HANSEN, OF WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

HEADLIGHT ATTACHMENT.

Application filed ,May 19, 1924. Serial No. 714,284.

To all whom t may concern Be it known that I, HARRY F. HANSEN, a citizenof the United States, residing at Washington, inthe District of- Columbia,

have invented new and useful Improvements in Headlight Attachments, of which the following is a specification..

The present invention relates to non-glare attachments for headlights, and more particularly to attachments of the type shown and described in my prior application, No. 673,106,`filed November 6, 1923. A

According to that invention, the attachment consists of upper and lower lightobstructing members of counterpart size and shapewhich are fitted in the casing of the headlight directly in front of the reflector and in spaced relation to each other, leaving' between them a central gap or chamber into which the electric light bulb' or other source of light projects. lEachof these members has the form of a dihedral angle, the two wings of which are Vperpendicular tio-each other, one wing being arranged vertically and at the front of the casing, while the other wing is disposed horizontally and projects rearwardly from the inner edge ofthe first wing. The vertical wings of both lightobstructing members may havelight-absorbing surfaces of any desired character, and

Vthe upper or outer surface of the horizontal wing of the lower member is alsoV blackened or otherwise treated to-*render it lightabsorbent; but the outer surface of the horizontal wing of the upper member, on the contrary, is highly polished so that it will thus constitutea reector for'coaction with the exposed portion of the'wall of the refiector proper.

Due to this construction and arrangement of parts, it will be obvious that between the upper and lower segment-shaped portions of the headlight there will be left an intermediate portion or chamber having the appearance of a horizontally-disposal, elongated rectangle of comparatively small height. The vertical wall of this chamber is constituted by the exposed portion ofthe' reliector wall and has, in' consequence, a reiiecting action on fthe light rays, and its horizontal top wall likewise exerts an action of the same nature; but the horizontal bottom wall, on the contrary,- is incapable of exerting any reecting action @Wies t@ .its haviaabeen blakeedthe rr salt being thatthe light beam projected from I upper member for a short distance along their junction line at each end thereof, and then curving the free ends of the horizontal wing slightly downward, so that the polished under surfaces of these curved portions will exert somewhat of a lateral reflecting action upon the rays striking against them, with a consequent spreading and widening of the beam.

An embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in

which:

1 Figure l is afront view of a conventional drum headlight equipped with the improved attachment Fig. 2 is a central vertical section;

Figs. 3 and 4 are perspective views of the upper and lower light-obstructing members of the attachment.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, l indicates the casing of the headlight; 2, its hinged front member or door which carries the glass plate panel or lens 3; 4, the refiector; and 5, the electric light bulb or other source of light. The casing 1 is here shown as of 'the drum type .now in general use, though it may be of conoidal shape, ifV

preferred, or of any other suitable form; and the refiector 4 is likewise of conventional parabolic type, with the bulb 5 mounted at the `center thereof as usual, said refiectorbeing provided at its marginal'edge.

with alateral flange 4. The glass panel 3 may also be of any preferred type.

As inthe earlier construction, the .essential feature ofthe invention is the provision of an accessory or attachment for a drumr or other conventional type of headlight which constitutes a separate and distinct entity from the headlight and maybe installed therein' .and i rammed therefpgm at, will,

The improved attachment likewise consists of two light-obstructing members 6 and 7 preferably constructed of sheet. metal and comprising, each, a vertical wing 6 or 7 and a rearwardly-extending, horizontal wing 62 or 72, as illustra-ted in Figs. 3 and il. The two wings of each member are disposed perpendicularly to each other so as to form a right dihedral angle; the horizontalwings being located at the bottom of the upper member and at the top of the lower member and being of parabolic shape so as to enablethem to fit in a standard reflector. The vertical wings are made approximately segmental or semi-circular for the same reason, and their curved marginal edges may be provided with radial projections or teeth 63 and 7 3 adapted to be bent over or otherwise engaged with the cord or other flexible element 8 ordinarily used in lamps or headlights of the `type constructed for Ford cars. This feature, however, forms no part of the actual invention and may be omitted' if desired. Any suitable means or devices may be provided for securing lthe light-obstructing members in place.

As previously stated, the twolight-obstructing members 6 and 7 are fitted in the upper and lower portions of the reflector, with their horizontal wings 62 and 72 opposite each other and in spaced, parallel relation, thereby leaving between them an intermediate horizontal chamber which extends diametrically of the reflector, so as to permit the lamp 5 to project thereinto; the back and sides of the chamber being formed by the exposed portion of the reflector wall which, as will be understood, is polished or otherwise treated to produce a reflecting action. The purpose of this chamber is to localize or condense the light rays and to intercept and absorb all those which would ordinarily be reflected upward. Accordingly, the upper or outer surface of the horizontal wing 72 of the lower light-obstructing member 7 is blackened or treated in some similar way to` render it light-absorbent, whereas the lower or' outer surface of the horizontal wing 62 of the upper lightobstructing member 6 is silvered or polished. The vertical wings 6 and 7 are disposed in the front of 'the reflector, parallel with and in close proximity to the glass panel 3, and their outer faces may likewise be blackened, as shown, or colored 'or lotherwise treated.

It will be observed that while the body of the polished wing 62 rof the upper member is flat, the end portions 64 of its curved edge are given a slight outward and downward rounding or curvature. The purpose of this is to enable these curved. or rounded portions to exert a combined lateral and downward Vreflecting action on `such lof the light rays as strike thereagainst, the result being a widening or spreading out of the angular` extent of the projected light beam which, of course, in turn enlarges or increases the zone of illumination. To effect the aforesaid bending-or curvature, the end portions of the junction line between the two wings of the member 6 are first split or severed after which the freed inner end portions of wing 62 are rolled or otherwise treated to shape the parts or lips 64, as will be understood. It is preferable moreover, in initially forming the blank, to Ymakek the portion which subsequentlyconstitutes the wing 62 slightly longer than the other portion; or, lin other words, to extend the ends of the nrst-named portionf slightly beyond those of the secondnamed portion.- This provides a bending or curvingfpart of increased size and renders it unnecessary to extend the severing operation very far into the junction line referred to, so that the structure as a-whole is not appreciably weakened by such operation.

The light-obstructing members of the improved'attachment can be manufactured and sold in bulk to fit'the standard sizes and types of head lights commonly used; and either member may be detached at any time, when necessary for one reason or another and, if damaged,- can be readily replaced by a new 'member at slight expense.

I claim as my invention: 1. An attachment-for vehicle headlights, comprising a pair of light-obstructin members, each in the form of a dihedra angle embodying a vertical wing Vand a horizontal wing', adapted to be positioned in the upper and lowerportions of the reflector of a headlight vin inverted relation, with their horizontal wings parallel and spaced apart to provide a diametral chamber into which the source of lightvprojects and the back and sides of which are formed by the wall of the reflector; the horizontal wing of the upper member having a light-reflecting under surface and being curved outwardly and downwardly at its opposite end portions so as to reflect laterally outward and downward the lightv rays striking thereagainst, and the horizontal wing of the lower member having a light-absorbing upper surface.

2. An article of manufacture for use in vehicle headlights to avoid blinding, comprising a flat, plate-like wing of approximately segmental shape and a second flat, plate-like Whig having the shape of a parabola, said wings being connected together to conjointly forma dihedral angle, one wing having its end portions curved outwardly and downwardly and having its entire outer surface rendered light-reflecting.

3. An article 'of manufacture for use in vehicle headlights to avoid blinding, comprising a flat, plate like wing of approximately Asegmental shape and 'a second flat, plate-likewifnghaving the shape of a parabola, said Wings being connected together "to eonjointly form a dihedral angle and adapted to fit conformably in the upper portion of the reflector of a headlight, With the 5 segmental Wing disposed vertically and the parabolic Wing disposed horizontally but spaced above the axis of the reflector; said parabolic Wing having its opposite end portions formed with outwardly and down- Wardly curved lips and its entire outer Surface rendered light-reflecting.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

HARRY F. HANSEN. 

